“Everything was fine until it wasn’t,” said Alex Bowman, detailing how difficult the experience became at Circuit of the Americas when he was subsequently diagnosed with vertigo. Now, he has detailed the measures taken to make a comeback.
His symptoms became severe enough that he had to step out before the race ended. Since then, he has gone through several weeks of recovery and medical evaluation. His road to recovery and, more so, comeback, has not been an easy one. But everything nd anything can be concurred when you have the right strategy to approach it.
Simulators and Real-World Tests Helped Alex Bowman Return
To avoid the March 1 disaster from repeating and jeopardizing the 32-year-old, Bowman says they have recreated the scenarios that triggered his initial symptoms, and he felt fine in both a real car at Ten Tenths Motor Club and in the simulator. He said, “I was totally fine in the sim, much better than other guys, which sucks because then they kick my butt on Sundays.”
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Bowman noted that his team’s support was vital during his recovery. He expressed, “It meant a lot to have support from everyone at HMS and Ally, I’ve put them in a tough spot a few times over the last 4 or 5 years, they’ve given me more grace than I probably deserve…It’s good to get rolling again.”
Bowman says they have recreated the scenarios that triggered his initial symptoms, and that he felt fine in both a real car (on Ten Tenths Motor Club) and in the simulator
“I was totally fine in the sim, much better than other guys, which sucks because then they kick my butt on…
— Peter Stratta (@peterstratta) April 11, 2026
Now, the 32-year-old says he feels ready to go, though he will have tempered expectations this weekend. Hendrick Motorsports has no one on standby after the seat was filled by Anthony Alfredo and Justin Allgaier over the past month.
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On Thursday, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Bowman was cleared to return to NASCAR Cup Series competition in Sunday’s Food City 500 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). He is set to load back into his No. 48 Chevrolet for practice and qualifying later Saturday (4:30 p.m. ET, FS2).
